About

Community Action Lanarkshire is a programme managed by the Rural Development Trust offering support for rural communities across rural North and South Lanarkshire with community-led action plans and to build and grow projects.

Our vision is that community decisions will be made for each place, in that place, by the people who live there. Communities will work together towards a common purpose, where the focus is on local people-led action.

Community Action Lanarkshire will help build your community’s ability to develop, fund and deliver projects to improve local lives for generations to come. The Rural Development Trust has secured funding from a range of sources to take forward the following projects working with communities in North and South Lanarkshire.

• Active Travel - Project Officer Dave Graham is leading on the following projects:

• Make Your Way Connecting Greenspaces (MYWCG) 2025/26 is funded from the South Lanarkshire Renewable Energy Fund and the Community Led Local Development Fund. This support enables us to create Make Your Way maps and map boards for Strathaven, Chapelton, and Drumclog/Gilmourton.

• Make Your Way: Leadhills - Wanlockhead Active Travel Pathway Stage 3 Detailed Design and Stage 4 Technical Design, previously funded by Sustrans Places for Everyone programme. Now funded by Transport Scotland via Strathclyde Partnership Transport (SPT)

• Make Your Way: Upperton - Greengairs Active Travel Pathway Stage 3 funded by Transport Scotland via Strathclyde Partnership Transport (SPT).

• The following projects have now been completed:

• Make Your Way - Ian Findlay Path is a new active travel project working in colaboration with Coalburn Miners Welfare Charitable Society and Coalburn Community Action Group to progress two path projects in the Coalburn area - one connecting Coalburn with Douglas to the South, and one connecting Coalburn with Lesmahagow in the North (via the NCN74 cycle route providing access to Auldton and Devonburn). Funded by the Ian Findlay Path Fund and the Renewable Energy Fund administered by South Lanarkshire Council. 

• Make Your Way Connecting Greenspaces (MYWCG) 2024/25 working in partnership with Get Outdoors Lanarkshire & South Lanarkshire Countryside & Greenspace. This project is funded by Paths for All, Auchrobert Community Energy Society & South Lanarkshire Renewable Energy Fund. The project focusses primarily on Carluke, Stonehouse & Forth to develop active travel routes within these communities. Our key greenspaces will form the centrepiece of new active travel maps, with featured routes creating activity corridors, supporting greater confidence in visiting urban greenspaces for wellbeing, exercise and active travel.

• Make Your Way Fit For the Future (MYWFFF) 2023/24 Mapping Review funded by Paths for All Smarter Choices Smarter Places, South Lanarkshire Council Renewable Energy Fund & Auchrobert Community Energy Society. Delivered active outdoor community mapping events & school activities across 12 rural communities focussing on 5 core communities: Abington, Crawfordjohn, Douglas, Douglas Water & Leadhills.The wider project covered Carstairs Junction, Crawford, Elvanfoot, Glespin & Rigside.

• Make Your Way - Key Links is an ambitious active travel project which aims to enable communities in Leadhills, Wanlockhead, Glespin & Douglas to link up with nearby settlements and services. It is funded by Sustrans Places for Everyone programme. A Feasibility Study was developed in 2021 with Concept Designs created in 2023/24. Future funding for these Sustrans projects has been delayed until futher notice.

• The following National Lottery funded projects have recently come to fruition:
• The National Lottery Community Fund  supported the Rural Development Trust from 2020 to 2024 in helping communities in Harthill, Plains, Caldercruix, Upperton, Greengairs, Sandford, Carstairs Junction and Kirkfieldbank take forward their newly created local action plans. 
• The North Lanarkshire Rural Heritage Programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, ran from 2020 to 2024. With the support of a heritage plan, a heritage officer and a small grants scheme, communities in Caldercruix, Greengairs, Harthill, Plains and Upperton lead the protection, enjoyment and use of heritage as a tool for regeneration. 

The above projects follow on from the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP) project supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund 2012-2018 and Community Action Lanarkshire (CAL) project supported by Lanarkshire Leader 2018-2020. This website and associated social media channels have been developed from existing CAVLP accounts. Please search within these pages for more information about CAVLP and CAL, including exploring the online museum, trails, news and resources.

All the projects and communities we work with are open to new organisations and people getting involved. Find out more about projects we are currently working on with local communities by clicking on the news section above, or by following us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also contact the lead officer for the project you are interested in or get in touch with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..